Leagues and groups for new U19 format: 2020–22 round 1
Tuesday 3 December 2019
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The draw for round 1 of the new U19 format, leading to the 2022 finals, has set the groups in the three leagues.
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The leagues for round 1 of the new UEFA Nations League-style UEFA European Under-19 Championship have been drawn, with the groups to be played in autumn 2020.
A new two-year format replaces the current one-season qualifying system, with four rounds of one-venue mini-tournaments including promotion and relegation leading to the 2022 finals in Slovakia (who will compete in the first two rounds before progressing to the final tournament).
The draw was made by Arsen Yeghiazaryan, captain of last season’s Armenia team, who received the Respect Fair Play trophy on behalf of the squad from UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis.
Round 1 draw
League A
Group A1 (11–17 November): Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Turkey (hosts), Croatia
Group A2 (11–17 November): Ukraine, Germany (hosts), Sweden, Belgium
Group A3 (11–17 November): Portugal (hosts), Czech Republic, Greece, Poland
Group A4 (11–17 November): Italy, England (hosts), Serbia, Austria
Group A5 (11–17 November): Spain, France (hosts), Norway, Slovakia
League B
Group B1 (7–13 October): Bulgaria (hosts), Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wales
Group B2 (7–13 October): Denmark (hosts), Scotland, Russia, Latvia
Group B3 (10–16 November): Hungary, Romania, Cyprus (hosts), Iceland
Group B4 (22–28 October): Israel (hosts), Slovenia, Finland, Switzerland
League C
Group C1 (2–8 September): Kosovo, Armenia, Luxembourg, Estonia (hosts)
Group C2 (2–8 September): Belarus (hosts), Northern Ireland, Gibraltar, San Marino
Group C3 (22–28 September): Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Andorra (hosts)
Group C4 (18–24 September): Malta, Albania (hosts), Moldova
Group C5 (7–13 October): North Macedonia (hosts), Kazakhstan, Lithuania
Round 1: promotion and relegation
Promotion
- From League B to A: the four group winners plus best runner-up
- From League C to B: all group winners plus runners-up depending on number of entries
Relegation
- From League A to B: the five teams ranked fourth in their groups
- From League B to C: the five teams ranked fourth in their groups plus lowest-ranked third-placed teams
Mini-tournament dates: 2020-2022 competition
Round 1: By 17 November 2020 – drawn on 3 December 2019
Round 2: By 8 June 2021 – drawn in December 2020
Round 3: 30 August–7 September or 4–12 October or 8–16 November 2021 – drawn in June/July 2021
Round 4: 21–29 March 2022 – drawn in December 2021
Final tournament (Slovakia): July 2022 – drawn after round 4 complete
How the draw worked
In round 1, the 54 entrants have been split into Leagues A (20 teams), B (16 teams) and C (18 teams), based on the U19 coefficient rankings based on performances in the competition from 2015/16–2018/19. All teams were then drawn into groups of four within their leagues except in League C, which has three groups of four and two of three.
Within each league, teams were split into two pots (League A – ten in each; League B – eight in each; League C – ten in one, eight in the other). In Leagues A and B, each group will contain two teams from each pot. In League C, each group contains two teams from the higher Pot 5, with two from Pot 6 in the three four-team groups and one each in the two three-team groups.
Based on previous decisions by the UEFA Executive Committee and UEFA Emergency Panel, Armenia and Azerbaijan could not be drawn in the same group in League C.
Hosts were appointed after the draw for each mini-tournament, to be completed by November 2020. In all, five teams will be promoted from League B to A (and an equal number relegated), with four promoted from League C to B (and an equal number relegated), in time for the December 2020 round two draw, with those games to be held in spring 2021.
Round 1 draw: Leagues and seeding pots
League A
Pot 1: Portugal, France, England, Italy, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland
Pot 2: Norway, Turkey, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Belgium, Sweden, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia
League B
Pot 3: Scotland, Israel, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Denmark, Slovenia, Georgia
Pot 4: Russia, Finland, Switzerland, Bosna and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Wales, Latvia, Iceland
League C
Pot 5: Azerbaijan, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Belarus, Armenia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Malta, Albania, Kazakhstan
Pot 6: Andorra, Luxembourg, Moldova, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Gibraltar, San Marino
Round 1: promotion and relegation
Promotion
- From League B to A: the four group winners plus best runner-up
- From League C to B: all group winners plus runners-up depending on number of entries
Relegation
- From League A to B: the five teams ranked fourth in their groups
- From League B to C: the five teams ranked fourth in their groups plus lowest-ranked third-placed teams
The same system will work for round 2. Teams in League C after round 2 play no further part, while finals hosts Slovakia will also play no further part until the July 2022 final tournament, their seven opponents decided after two more sets of mini-tournaments in autumn 2021 (Leagues A and B) and spring 2022 (League A only). The final tournament will also act as Europe's qualifier for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
